Expansion combs for textile machines



June 16, 1959 L. KASPE-R EXPANSION COMBS FOR TEXTILE MACHINES Filed Sept. 4, 1956 INVENTOR ATTORNEY I out}; [ca/er United States Patent EXPANSION COMBS FOR TEXTILE MACHINES Louis Kasper, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Steel Heddle Manufacturing' Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 4, 1956, Serial No. 607,714

4 Claims. (Cl. 28-55) This invention relates to expansion combs for textile machines, and it relates more particularly to expansion combs in which the dent spacing may be quickly changed and accurately adjusted.

Heretofore, the dents of expansion combs have usually been mounted in one of two ways, either with the lower portions thereof gripped between the convolutions of helical springs which may be contracted and expanded to make the required adjustment of the dent spacing, or in another type, the dents were mounted in link members of lazy-tong arrangements. Each of these types of expansion combs had certain inherent disadvantages.

The principal object of the present invention is to pro vide an expansion comb of a novel construction and arrangement in which the dent spacing may be quickly, easily and expeditiously changed and adjusted.

A further object of the invention is to provide an expansion comb of'the character aforesaid, in which the dent spacing from end to end of the comb will be more accurately maintained than has heretofore been possible in expansion combs of the other kinds.

The nature and characteristic features of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a top or plan view of an expansion comb embodying the main features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section thereof, certain of the parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section, taken approximately on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, enlarged; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a portion of the structure at the right hand end thereof, said section being taken approximately on the line 44 of Fig. 1, enlarged.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawing herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, in the particular embodiment of the invention therein shown, are side bars constituting the principal members of the frame. On the top edges of the side bars 10 rails 11 are secured in any preferred manner in parallel relationship.

The side frame members 10 are spaced in any suitable manner as, for example, by means of the block arrangement 12 at the left hand end of the structure, and another block arrangement 13 at the right hand end of the structure.

Slidably mounted on the rails 11 are dent supporting blocks 14 which are recessed, as at 15, on each side, to slidably fit the inner edge portions of the rails 11.

Each of the blocks 14 has a bushing 16 threaded therein, and each of said bushings has a flanged end 17, which fits in a complemental groove 18, in the upper overhanging half portion of the next adjacent slide member 14.

The bushing 16 which is threaded in the slide block 14 at the right hand end of the series thereof has its flange 17 fitting into and engaging a groove 19 in a block 20 which is fixedly secured in any suitable manner to the spacing block 13 provided at that end of the frame struc ture. This arrangement provides an anchorage atone end of the series of the dent supporting slide blocks 14,

Extending from end to end of the device is a rotatable shaft 21 which passes through .each of the bushings 16 The shaft 21 is provided with a spline 22 which engages a complemental longitudinal groove in each of the bushings 16, whereby said bushings will be rotated in unison when the shaft 21 is rotated. The shaft 21 is journaled at the left hand end in the block member 12, and at the right hand end in the block structure 13.

On one end of the shaft 21 there is secured a hand wheel 23, which is provided for the rotation of the shaft 21, thereby to effect the adjustment of the dent carrying slide blocks 14, which will be separated to the desired extent upon the rotation of the threaded bushings 16 by means of the splined shaft 21.

Each of the slide blocks 14 has a pair of dents 24 mounted therein and extending upwardly in parallel arrangement. The spaces between the dents 24 of each pair are open at the top for the insertion of the warp ends between said pairs of dents.

The preferred manner of mounting the dents 24 in the slide blocks 14 comprises the provision, for each slide block, of a circular bracket member 25 in which the lower ends of the dents 24 are secured. Each of said bracket members 25 has a tit 26 positioned and secured in a drilled hole in the slide member 14 in which it is mounted.

When it is desired to effect a change in the spacing of the respective pairs of the dents 24 it is only necessary to rotate the shaft 21 by means of the hand wheel 23, whereupon the threaded bushings 16 will all be rotated in unison, and by reason of the threaded engagement of the bushings 16 with the slide blocks 14, and the positioning of the flanges 17 of the bushings 16, in each instance in the next adjacent slide block 14, said slide blocks will be simultaneously shifted to the desired positions, but always with the pairs of dents carried thereby equidistantly spaced from the next adjacent pairs.

I claim:

1. An expansion comb for textile machines comprising rails, slide block-s mounted thereon, warp guiding dents carried by said slide blocks, and means for simultaneously separating said slide blocks to positions at all times equidistant from each other, said means comprising a member threaded in each of said slide blocks, each of said threaded members being in grooved engagement with the next adjacent slide block, and means for rotating all of said threaded members simultaneously.

2. An expansion comb for textile machines comprising rails, slide blocks mounted thereon, warp guiding dents carried by said slide blocks, a member threaded in each of said slide blocks, each of said members having a flange at one end thereof, and each of the slide blocks having a groove therein engaged by the flange of the member which is threaded in the next adjacent slide block, and means for rotating all of said threaded members simultaneously thereby to separate said slide blocks and the warp guiding dents carried by said blocks equidistantly.

3. An expansion comb for textile machines comprising rails, slide blocks mounted thereon, warp guiding dents carried by said slide blocks, a bushing threaded in each of said slide blocks, each of said bushings having a flange at one end thereof, and each of said slide blocks having a groove therein engaged by the flange of the bushing which is threaded in the next adjacent slide block, and means for rotating all of said bushings simultaneously thereby to separate said slide blocks and the warp guidthereby to separate said slide blocks and the warp guiding dents carried by said blocks equidistantly. ing dents carried by said blocks equidistantly.

4. An expansion comb for textile machines comprising rails, slide blocks mounted thereon, Warp guiding dents References Cited in the file of this patent carried by said slide blocks, a bushing threaded in each 5 of said blocks, each of said bushings having a flange at UNITED STATES PATENTS one end thereof, and each of the slide blocks having 2. 2,427,827 Whitener Sept. 23, 1947 groove therein engaged by the flange of the bushing which 2,728,131 Barnes et a1 Dec. 27, 1955 is threaded in the next adjacent slide block, and a splined shaft extending through said bushings, said shaft serving 10 FOREIGN PATENTS when rotated to rotate all of said bushings simultaneously 85957 Germany M313 1 1896 

